trepan

Meaning

Noun

1. A tool used to bore through rock when sinking shafts.
2. A surgical instrument used to remove a circular section of bone from the skull; a trephine.

Verb

1. To create a large hole by making a narrow groove outlining the shape of the hole and then removing the plug of material remaining by less expensive means.
2. To use a trepan; to trephine.

Verb

To ensnare; to seduce, to trick.

Synonyms

trephine

borer

bur

burr

drill

miser

bitstock

trephining

sinking machine

well-rig

auger

trepanning machine

Hyphenated as

tre‧pan

Pronounced as (IPA)

/tɹɪˈpæn/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: -

Inherited from Old English: treppan

In summary

Borrowed into Middle English from Old French trepan, from Latin trepanum, from Ancient Greek τρύπανον (trúpanon, “auger, borer”). Doublet of trephine.